Exposure of Foods and Foodstuffs to Nuclear Explosions

Generally, failure of packages conformed to the same pattern observable in other disaster situations, namely, dislogdement, falling and crushing. However, it should be noted that flying missiles, chiefly glass, presented a special problem. Even steel cans were perforated, and many of the foodstuffs packaged in "soft" containers showed serious contamination with splintered glass. 4. Because of factors beyond the control of these experiments only limited observations on fall-out contamination could be made. It is clear, however, that oily or adherent dirt surfaces on containers present serious cleaning problems which ordinary brushing cannot control. As an addendum to the food program, a test was conducted on soft drinks and beer packaged in glass and cans to determine whether such products could serve as an acceptable source of fluid. These products received the same rigorous exposure as some of the foods.